Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
I am not uncle. :nahi: [In my young pictures. :cb:]
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
Dukhtar: A Woman’s Story in Pakistan
**An independent Pakistani filmmaker defies the odds to tackle an important human rights issue.
**Slated for release this year, the film, Dukhtar (Persian for “Daughter”), by Afia Nathaniel, an independent Pakistani filmmaker, has begun to generate quite a buzz in the local entertainment industry.
A nail-biting, ambitious drama/thriller set in northern Pakistan, Dukhtar follows Allah Rakhi and her young daughter, Zainab, who are on the run. The production is based on a human rights issue significant to South Asia: child marriages. On discovering that her 10-year-old daughter is to be wed to a tribal leader, Tor Khan, Allah Rakhi embarks on a tense escape from her village with her little girl in tow.
In 1999, Nathaniel heard of a story she never forgot: A Pakistani woman had left her husband and fled with her daughters, only to be persistently hunted by her family. The filmmaker was inspired. “Her journey of escape was a harrowing tale spread over several years,” Nathaniel says, “What remained in my mind was the vision of this one woman and her extraordinary courage.”
Nathaniel wrote Dukhtar while undertaking an MFA in Film Directing at Columbia University in New York. While at grad school the filmmaker found herself feeling extremely nostalgic about her homeland; writing provided a much-needed, cathartic release. “The writer in me found a way to connect with home through this story. And the wanderer in me crafted the character of Allah Rakhi so I could give her the freedom to find a new life with her daughter.”
“I come from a family of very strong women,” Nathaniel says. “Women who have endured tough lives to give a better life to their children.” Through Dukhtar, Nathaniel hopes that the sacrifices made by Pakistani women for their children are never forgotten.
Interestingly, in creating Allah Rakhi’s character, the filmmaker drew on her own maternal great grandmother, a tough woman who went against the grain, living a life of strength, courage, grace and resilience.
“My great grandmother became a widow very early in life in Quetta and her husband left her penniless with four young children,” Nathaniel states, “She became a school teacher and raised her four children by herself, choosing to stay in Quetta alone rather than going back to the tribal areas where she came from. She had a will of steel and nothing deterred her in life. So while I was filming Dukhtar I felt very close to the spirit of her journey. And from it, I derived a lot of strength to undertake this very ambitious film project.”
It has been an emotional journey for Nathaniel. For one, the production took ten years to complete, a period during which the filmmaker had a daughter herself. “The journey has been all the more personal, all the more emotional and all the more satisfying,” she says.
Pakistan’s film industry is effectively non-existent. This has led independent Pakistani filmmakers like Nathaniel to produce their own thought-provoking work. It also meant that funding a movie that stars women, is made by a woman, and examines women’s rights in Pakistan was a major challenge.
“It is incredibly hard to find financing for a film which has female protagonists if the writer-director also happens to be a woman. On top of that, the film is set in Pakistan. Our actors are not known in the international market,” she explains. “Our local film industry is in a shambles. Our local financiers want to see masala films with women wearing almost nothing dancing and gyrating on the screen. In short, local films are made to cater to the male fantasy.”
She continues; “Therefore, to make a film about a mother who wants to save her daughter from a child marriage in this kind of industry and to not compromise on the quality of the film for an international audience – it was a huge battle.”
Given the steady sprinkle of local Pakistani movies made by independent filmmakers, is the country now witnessing a slow (and steady) revival of Pakistani cinema? Nathanial answers: “We stand at a very interesting crossroads in Pakistani cinema today. I believe there is a lot of great talent in the country which can make local stories for global audiences and that is key to any true revival that we allude to in cinema. We also need to embrace diversity within our storytelling culture and not just push for one kind of cinema – the masala sort or the commercial sort. There should be all kinds of films for all kinds of audiences. Why limit ourselves to just this or just the Iranian cinema? I keep hearing how we should make films like the Iranians. Well, why stop at just Iran. Why not make films like the Mexicans? What a fantastic new wave of films and filmmakers are coming out from all over the world. Why limit our inspiration to one country or one kind of cinema?”
To be released in Pakistan next month, Nathaniel hopes local audiences enjoy her debut film. “[It is] a beautiful story with a beautiful heart,” she says, “A little introspection through films is a good thing for a nation’s conscience.”
*Sonya Rehman is a journalist based in Lahore, Pakistan. She can be reached at: *[EMAIL=“[email protected]”]sonjarehman [at] gmail.com
Source: Dukhtar: A Woman
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
Sweet melody 
Sung by the Hina Nasrullah, composed by Sahir Ali Bagga, lyrics by Imran Raza.
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
Powerful song by Shafqat Amanat Ali! Loving the soundtrack so far.
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
Cool movie...much better than that Na Maloom Afraad crap. So paindu...
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
...double post..
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
Allah rakhi? Pashtun women do not have such names. And i guess the writer of film is addressing "swara" custom that indeed exists in some parts of pakhtunkhwa, but lets be clear, child-marraiges do not take place as claimed by the film (can be of any age, if girl is small ,nikah and rukhsati are done when she grows up to be an adult) . Infact swara is peghor, a last resort rather than a regular custom to end the enmities with blood sheds. It is frowned upon to give your daughter or sister to your enemy's family in marraige who has killed your brother or father or uncle, it is extreme (and therefore rare) occasion that two families would agree on swara to end the severe enmity. Usually decades long enmities are ended with it, as they become relatives after that. Mothers warn their sons about swara of his sister , when he is going to kill some one in anger, the thought that his sister might end up in enemy's house, bring him into his senses some times. Basically every family member, male or female, is affected in enmities. The film-maker is feminist and has highlighted swara issue, but the real issue is violence and guns culture, murder for revenge which leads to countless deaths and some times swara. The solution is education and islam, and respecting law and order.
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
:k:
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
I can’t understand what she is saying.
Bad sound mixing ?
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
Good news is that ANP governament passed many laws in assembly in support of Pashtun women. Swara is banned nowadays and police arrest those who go with it. Another good thing they did was banning "ghag" custom (prevalent in FATA) in which a man could announce his interest in the girl by firing in the air outside her home, challenging girl's family. Another good thing ANP did was passing bill for giving inheritance rights to women in islam which are denied to them in pashtun society.
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
Allah rakhi? Pashtun women do not have such names. And i guess the writer of film is addressing "swara" custom that indeed exists in some parts of pakhtunkhwa, but lets be clear, child-marraiges do not take place as claimed by the film (can be of any age, if girl is small ,nikah and rukhsati are done when she grows up to be an adult) . Infact swara is peghor, a last resort rather than a regular custom to end the enmities with blood sheds. It is frowned upon to give your daughter or sister to your enemy's family in marraige who has killed your brother or father or uncle, it is extreme (and therefore rare) occasion that two families would agree on swara to end the severe enmity. Usually decades long enmities are ended with it, as they become relatives after that. Mothers warn their sons about swara of his sister , when he is going to kill some one in anger, the thought that his sister might end up in enemy's house, bring him into his senses some times. Basically every family member, male or female, is affected in enmities. The film-maker is feminist and has highlighted swara issue, but the real issue is violence and guns culture, murder for revenge which leads to countless deaths and some times swara. The solution is education and islam, and respecting law and order.
the filmaker is from Quetta and I've heard she's pashtun too, so she know's more about her culture
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
the filmaker is from Quetta and I've heard she's pashtun too, so she know's more about her culture
She is from lahore basically, born in Quetta because her father in army was posted there. Quetta is a city and i doubt that her family has any deep knowledge of rural pashtun society other than interactions with pashtuns of the city, karachi city also has 7 million pashto speakers and urduspeakers have same amount of interactions and superficial knowledge about pashtuns as her family had in quetta
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
She is from lahore basically, born in Quetta because her father in army was posted there. Quetta is a city and i doubt that her family has any deep knowledge of rural pashtun society other than interactions with pashtuns of the city, karachi city also has 7 million pashto speakers and urduspeakers have same amount of interactions and superficial knowledge about pashtuns as her family had in quetta
but she mentioned that her grandma was from the tribal areas, so she's probably part Pashtun?
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
Released in Pakistan today - anyone watch it?
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
so the latest Dukhtar selected for Oscar consideration by Pakistan Committee
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
WOOP WOOP!!! 
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
It would be perfect choice whether it gets selected or wins.
I would think that it will be selected because of the topic.
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
Film’s getting mixed reviews Ioncinema toronto gave it 2.5 star rating. Samiya Mumtaz and little Saleha Arif’s performances are being praised but Mohib Mirza’s getting negative reviews supposedly he had very little to do in the film. The cinematography is said to be remarkable and one of the stronger points. Anyone seen it yet?
“There are no depressing, long-winded scenes and monologues and while it may be a story that we have all heard and read before, it still stays interesting. Fraught with tensions and emotions, it draws you in - especially in the first half - and keeps you in suspense. With its highs and few lows, its stronger elements and faults, it’s a completely Pakistani story, told from a completely Pakistani perspective; a story well-told.” Dawn
Movie Review: Dukhtar – a story well-told - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
“It’s a fast paced movie, with never a dull moment; social issues are wonderfully interwoven with action, suspense and a thrilling chase.” Youlin Magazine
Film Review: Dukhtar (Daughter)
“Dukhtar’s portrayal of child marriages in Pakistan is tedious, especially since it’s nothing new for local audiences. The director may have avoided making a Pashtoon woman do an item number, but the substitute she offers is not engaging at all.” Express Tribune
Dukhtar
“the film settles into a classic cat and mouse set of sequences, finally bringing us to the precipice of tragedy. A symbolic, heavy-handed (literally) device closes the film, that’s about as touching as it is unforgivably cliché.” Ion Cinema
Dukhtar | 2014 TIFF Review - U.S. Indie News, Filmmaker Interviews, Film Festivals, Movie Reviews | Ioncinema
Re: Dukhtar -2014 (movie)
I want to watch it but is it any good? But to be honest I don't care because I need to support local cinema.